God how I hate new countries: They are older than the old, more sophisticated, much more conceited, only young in a certain puerile vanity more like senility than anything.
Religion was fading into the background. He had shovelled away all the beliefs that would hamper him, had cleared the ground, and come more or less to the bedrock of belief that one should feel inside oneself for right or wrong, and should have the patience to gradually realise one's God. Now life interested him more.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of personal belief over traditional religion, advocating for individual moral understanding and patience in one's spiritual journey.
In this quote, D. H. Lawrence reflects on the evolution of belief, expressing that he has moved beyond conventional religious doctrines to find a more personal and introspective understanding of right and wrong. He suggests that true spirituality comes from within and that one must patiently explore and recognize their own divine beliefs, ultimately leading to a deeper interest in life itself.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about personal beliefs and spirituality, this quote can highlight the importance of individual understanding.
More from D. H. Lawrence
All quotes →A young man is afraid of his demon and puts his hand over the demon's mouth sometimes and speaks for him. And the things the young man says are very rarely poetry.
And besides, look at elder flowers and bluebells-they are a sign that pure creation takes place - even the butterfly. But humanity never gets beyond the caterpillar stage -it rots in the chrysalis, it never will have wings.It is anti-creation, like monkeys and baboons.
The Christian fear of the pagan outlook has damaged the whole consciousness of man.
The cosmos is a vast living body, of which we are still parts. The sun is a great heart whose tremors run through our smallest veins. The moon is a great nerve center from which we quiver forever. Who knows the power that Saturn has over us, or Venus? But it is a vital power, rippling exquisitely through us all the time.
... he preferred his own madness, to the regular sanity. He rejoiced in his own madness, he was free. He did not want that old sanity of the world, which was become so repulsive. He rejoiced in the new-found world of his madness. It was so fresh and delicate and so satisfying.
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Perhaps there are other bits of my life that would take on content, take on shadow, if only I read more and thought less about money.
The men of the press, who despised their own profession, did not know why they were enjoying it today. One of them, a young man with years of notorious success behind him and a cynical look of twice his age, said suddenly, 'I know what I'd like to be: I wish I could be a man who covers news!'
If there is hope, it lies in the proles.
Society has arisen out of the works of peace; the essence of society is peacemaking.
In court, judges tell people that their conviction carries a sentence of years, or probation. The truth is far more terrible. People convicted of crimes often become social outcasts for life, finding it difficult or impossible to rent an apartment, get a job, adopt children, access public benefits, serve on juries, or vote.
I don't believe in God, but I'm afraid of Him.